


Itch

by Konstantinsen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Dorm Life - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hormones, Humor, Puberty, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 12:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16449782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Konstantinsen/pseuds/Konstantinsen
Summary: Jaune was starting to question the logic behind coeducational lodging.





	1. Itch

**NOTE: Here's a late-night thirty-minute quickie.**

* * *

Jaune was starting to question the logic behind coeducational lodging.

Sure, it was natural to bunk teams together, regardless of gender or race, to strengthen camaraderie and therefore enhance their effectiveness as a Huntsman team. It was sort of like sharing rooms with your siblings. Only in this case, they were adopted siblings. Unless you saw them differently which Jaune absolutely did not.

His team was like family to him. Pyrrha was a good friend, combat mentor, and true comrade. Ren was his ever understanding brother from another mother. Nora embodied the insanity of his younger sisters and more. And there was team RWBY which was another basket of crazies in itself.

So that meant that they were hands off to anything beyond platonic friendship.

At least, that's what he told himself. Because his body seemed to disagree with him. How could he tell? Simple. The tower down south had risen to challenge the fabric of the skies.

“You have got to be kidding me,” he mutedly growled.

This was frustrating. And awkward.

Why on Remnant was he getting an erection? He wasn't even thinking of anything...stimulating! And it was making their dorm room really uncomfortable.

For crying out loud, Pyrrha was _right there_! Her slender form outlined by her blanket, her chest rising and falling as she slept, her docile features highlighted by the light of the shattered moon shining through the glass...

Jaune shook the thoughts out of his head. No. No, no! Not the right time for that. It was only making his tower itch. He wanted to scratch it. Before he knew it, he had dug a hand under the covers to get at that spot... Right there... Just an itch on the tower that needs scratching...

Shit.

This was the fifteenth time this month.

Jaune got up quietly, paced to the bathroom, and washed his hands clean, caring to leave no trace of his itch-scratching and cleaning-up-after-said-itch-scratching behind. It was bad enough having to deal with Nora on a sugar high—she could become a terrifying bloodhound when pumped with the right amount of glucose—and he was already wary of Pyrrha wondering why they kept running low on tissues.

He blamed puberty. Hormones. It was all hormones. He would never envision any of his female friends in any lewd imagined scenario. That was just wrong...

Then again, so was masturbating in the same room as them.

On the bright side, at least it wasn't team RWBY. He shuddered at the thought of what they would do if he got caught.

Jaune tiptoed to his bed and slipped under the duvet. So far, so good. Just like every other night for the past few months. This was just a phase; he'd grow out of it soon enough. He envied Ren. At least the stoic boy wouldn't worry about this...dilemma.

Strange. He could've sworn he heard noises coming from Pyrrha's bed. She shuffled a bit to her side and he heard her moan. An odd-sounding moan but could he really tell? She sounded like she was having trouble or something. Maybe a bad dream? A nightmare? Her breathing was getting hitched and her arms were moving under the sheets.

Jaune raised a curious brow. He got off his bed and walked over to hers. Her back was turned fully to him and she seemed to be curling up into the fetal position. The moonlight exposed the sweat on her skin.

“Shhh, hey. It's okay,” he cooed, letting his hand touch her shoulder.

Pyrrha squeaked and stiffened.

“Hey, Pyr. It's just a dream. It's just a dream. You're fine.”

She seemed to understand him and relax a little. The way her face was scrunched up was a little odd. Nah, probably the dream.

Jaune smiled. He was only giving back to Pyrrha after all that she had been doing for him. She wasn't moaning much when he laid his head back onto his pillow. It felt good to provide a bit of comfort, minute as it was.

Maybe coeducational lodging made a bit of sense.

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: April 9, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: April 9, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: April 9, 2018 [FFN]**

**NOTE: There _has_ to be clauses behind guys and girls sharing a dorm room, right?**


	2. Roof

Cardin only wished they wouldn't be so damn loud.

He shook his head, gritting his teeth to match his cringe as he stared outside the window to their dorm room. The rest of his team was feeling no less better than he was.

Apparently, Nikos and Arc decided to hold their nightly training sessions right on top of them. While he personally had nothing against it—every Huntsman-in-training had to stay sharp and he was no exception—he just wanted them to be quiet about it.

Sure, the grunting was expected but the dialogue was bordering between forgettable to 'I-don't-think-I-needed-to-hear-that.'

Cardin knew potential blackmail material but this was Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc. The former could kick his and his whole team's asses three times over without batting an eye so that was a given. Arc, on the other hand, was a nice plaything. Until Forever Fall happened. They rarely spoke of it but what he could take away from that experience was that that limp noodle of a blonde could very well knock his teeth in if he tried.

“Harder, Jaune. Push harder!”

“I'm trying, Pyrrha. But it's not easy with my sword.”

Cardin winced. Context. Remember the damn context.

“Would you like to switch then? I'll be the aggressive one.”

“Ah, let's just stick to defense for now.”

“Alright. But let's change positions.”

Russel groaned, Sky huffed, and Dove grimaced. Cardin saw this and once again mulled climbing out his window to the roof and yelling at the two members of team JNPR to keep it down. Honestly, as much as he wanted to let them be (and that was the limit of his benevolence to those two), he was getting sick and tired of the innuendos.

“Pyrrha, I'm tired.”

“Not yet, Jaune. We still have three more positions to run through.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now,” grumbled Sky.

Russel sighed in exasperated defeat, yanking the plugs from his ears—the music from his scroll blaring through the exposed ends—and marched to the bathroom. “I'm taking a deuce.”

“You're just going to jack off again,” sneered Dove.

“It's quieter in there. And I really need to go. I think the meat stew we had for lunch got something else in it.”

“Just go already,” Cardin hissed. It was bad enough having to tolerate four tentpoles in the same space. He grit his teeth as the grunting resumed. If it was not for the clanging of steel, then they would have all been scrambling for a turn at the toilet just to let off the heat building up down south.

“You're getting pretty stiff, Jaune.”

“No thanks to you, Pyr.”

Cardin let his head drop onto his table. He could hear their panting. Their _panting_. He could imagine how much worse it could be for faunus if his ears with this sharp. Not that he actually cared. Just curious.

Clang! Ping! Pow!

“Good,” Nikos huffed. “You're getting in.”

A breathy chuckle from Arc. “Oh, I'm just getting started.”

And the grunting got more intense. For the love of—Cardin closed his eyes to drive away the mental images of the two grinding on the roof.

“You're getting better with your swordplay.”

“I'm learning from the best.”

“A bit more force when you're thrusting.”

“Got it.”

“Careful when you swing both ways.”

“I can hold it straight, don't worry.”

“Remember to be wary of any opening you find. When you see it, be wise with your approach.”

“I know, I know. Wrong hole.”

The leader of team CRDL smashed his fist on his table. Did he have to use those specific words out of the massive lexicon of their vocabulary? 'Wrong hole?' Seriously, Arc? Were they actually doing this to spite them? Were they just fucking with them the whole time?

“Damn. I got stiff again.”

“Do you need help with that?”

“Yeah.”

Cardin felt his eyes snap out of his sockets the moment Arc started moaning. Jaune Arc was moaning. Sensually. Or something close to it.

“Oh, yeah~... Right there... Wow. Didn't know you were good at this.”

“Well, muscle cramps are a common thing.”

“Yeah but...whoa... Your hands.”

Nikos giggled. “Well, since these things happen a lot...”

“Yeah, keep at it... Mmmm~...”

“That's it!” Sky snapped. “I'm going up there—”

Dove held him down. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it. Do you want to get pummeled?”

“For telling them to shut up!?”

“You both stay there!” Cardin ordered, clamoring onto the window sill. “I'll handle this. I can't take it anymore.”

As he began to pull himself over the gutter, he could hear Arc go, “Hey, you don't think we were a bit too loud? I mean, team CRDL is right below us.”

“I don't think they'd be bothered with it.”

“Would you two keep it down?” Cardin growled, finally making his presence known.

“I guess you do mind,” Jaune said sheepishly. “Erm, sorry 'bout that.”

Pyrrha seemed less apologetic, if the look on her face was anything to go by. But she still mouthed an audible, “Sorry.”

“Good. It's all I'm asking.” Having finally said his peace, Cardin climbed back down to the window of his dorm.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha shared a mischievous look. Tired as he was, he managed a smirk and leaned over to her. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

She blushed. Too bad he didn't see it. “You want to mess with them.”

“No harm in it.”

“Fair enough.”

* * *

The next couple nights were much worse for team CRDL. Pushed to the limits of his patience, Cardin finally burst through the door to the roof with an annoyed Glynda Goodwitch in tow.

Since then, Arc and Nikos held their training in the gym. The relief was bittersweet though. While he relished the respite of silence, it would take him another two weeks to overcome the disturbing mental images of the blonde doofus and that Mistralian know-it-all pulling hardcore porn above the ceiling.

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: April 19, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: April 19, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: April 19, 2018 [FFN]**

**NOTE: I should be working on my dissertation right now. Plot bunnies be damned.**


	3. Laundry

Jaune was annoyed.

They needed separate laundry bins. If Beacon could afford the expendable combat drones and the countless varieties of coffee blends from all the four kingdoms, then it would make sense to have the basic amenities covered. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Everyone did their own laundry. The staff probably had a laundry chute somewhere where the custodians would handle all the clothes they themselves did not bother with. The students, on the other hand, were on their own.

As such, it was his turn this month to do the laundry. The whole of team JNPR's laundry, to be exact. It was bad enough stomaching the stink from their combined sweat—being a Huntsman did entail constant physical stress—but it was much worse staving off whatever bodily fluids were secreted as part of their normal human cycles.

“Huh, flower boxers? Probably Ren's,” Jaune mused, glancing at said article of clothing haphazardly buried under (Nora's) frilly lingerie.

He lifted the bin up only to scrunch his face in both disgust and a weak attempt to stave off the odor coming from...

“Oh for the love of...”

Jaune bit down on his gag reflex, nearly dropping the basket. Had it been that time of the month already? If the dried (and still damp) crimson stains on the heaps of panties piled up to his nose were any indication, then that offered a reasonable explanation for Nora's recent explosive behavior and Pyrrha's sudden reclusion. The former was able to make Miss Goodwitch lose her hair while the latter sulked in the corner, clutching her abdomen, and rocking back and forth like some grizzled veteran with PTSD.

“Come on, come on... Almost there...” he wheezed to himself.

Finally, Jaune reached the back of the dorms to the small concrete lot where every student did their laundry. Surprisingly, on this day and hour, the only other person indulging in the most arduous chore was none other than Cardin Winchester, the misery radiating off his sulking form as he scrubbed boxer briefs against a washboard.

They briefly met eye to eye.

Awkward.

Cardin snorted before going back to his sudsy basin while Jaune made his way to the center of the yard to the water pump.

Yes. The water pump. The only source of water clean enough to be used for anything other than drinking. Aligning three pails together, he began the rigorous process of pumping water to fill them all up. Then he dragged one of the large tin basins off the wall and filled it up halfway.

Seriously, Beacon should invest in more efficient basic amenities instead of this ancient crap. If they were bunking students together as teams regardless of...physical limitations...then they would have at least had the foresight for this kind of maintenance.

Alas, that was not the case.

Jaune sighed as he resigned himself in front of the basin, carefully plucking the first articles of clothing off the top of the basket. Which happened to be Nora's frilly panties...immediately followed by Pyrrha's... Either they were stained with suspicious fluids ( _why was it green!?_ ) or covered in—shudder—damp monthly juices.

Cardin snickered.

The blonde glanced at the mace-wielder who seemed to be enjoying his torment. He shook his head and kept scrubbing, the basin slowly taking a faint pinkish tint. “I'm not even going to...”

“You had your fun, Arc. Let me have mine.”

“At least you don't have girls for teammates.”

“Or squad full of air-headed tentpoles.”

Jaune spared a glance. Yep. There were some suspect but familiar stains ( _and a brown patch_ ) on the mountain that was team CRDL's boxers.

“Don't deny it, Arc. We all got an itch to scratch every now and then,” Cardin remarked.

“I'm not into that, no thank you.” Jaune grew up with seven sisters. He was no perv. Besides, the thought of going through his siblings' underwear always made him gag. It was much worse than his motion sickness.

“No harm in it.”

“Petition to upgrade the Academy facilities?” the blonde deflected, making a mental note to bring an extra clothes pin for his nose.

A snort. “As if that hasn't happened ten times before. Just ask the upper-years.”

A defeated grumble. “Guess that's expected.”

“Seriously, though. Period blood? Even I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemies,” the mace-wielder said with a flick of his soapy hand. “Damn, that fucking smells! Ugh!”

“It was that time of the month. I can understand why girls hate it.”

Cardin paused. As if in thought. Then mumbled something of a slow realization. “Was that why Nikos was aggressive in combat class this morning? I swear she was trying to spear me between the eyes.”

“Yeah. That's why. Don't even get me started on Nora.”

“So that's why she's in detention.” With Ren, he didn't add. Oh, and Pyrrha had made it very clear not to disturb her while she...slept in.

They continued in silence, the squishy sounds of water and fabric and the occasional rasping against the washboard being their only music.

“I hate laundry day.”

“You and me both.”

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: April 10, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: April 24, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: April 24, 2018 [FFN]**

**NOTE: A friend of mine told me that her boyfriend used to do all the laundry for his ex. That included panties stained with period blood.**

**Also, water pumps are good work-outs. I grew up with one before we replaced it with a mechanical pump. Builds up good core strength because you have to carry about 2 to 4 pails, pump them full of water, then haul them back to wherever you came from usually over a good distance. And sometimes, there's a line in front of the water pump because it tends to become the only source of clean water for the neighborhood after a hurricane or calamity.**

**Same goes for gas stations but at least you have a handheld mechanical pump and smaller, lighter, plastic gas balloons.**


	4. Bathroom

**NOTE: Quickieeeeee~...**

* * *

“Whoa!”

“Gah!”

Jaune stumbled backwards more out of reflex than out of surprise. The door to the bathroom swung back shut on its own accord, leaving the blonde knight on his keister with his towel and toiletries all over the floor. Well, that went his morning start-up. Thank goodness it was a weekend!

Then again, the whole weekend and probably the next couple or so weeks (or months) would be awkward as hell. Probably.

“I'm sorry!” Pyrrha called from the bathroom, the shower suddenly sounding.

“It's okay!” he replied.

Good thing Ren and Nora went to get their breakfast for them. Or Ren went to make sure Nora didn't get carried away with the weekend selection which was usually sugar, syrup, and coffee. The last thing he needed right now was their bubbly teammate to freak out while on a sugar rush and try to make things even more difficult. Not that this was any difficult. It was just an accident, after all. Another quirk to coeducational lodging.

“I'll just, uh, wait out here,” Jaune continued, scooping up his things and sitting back on his bed.

“O-okay,” she stuttered back.

Really, Pyrrha was being weird again. Was it that time of the month again? He was sure it just ended last week. Ah, who was he kidding?

He caught her masturbating on the toilet. Vigorously. He wondered who she was thinking of...

Not that he was interested. Just curious. Yeah. Just curious. Get it out of your system, Jaune. Everyone has carnal needs, him included. At least she didn't catch him scratching his itches in the night. Then again, the same could be said for Ren and Nora. Crap. What if he caught either of them? Ren didn't strike him as the type to go for it. And Nora was...well...

He shook his head. Nope. Nada. Not going to go there. No mental images to defile his pristine perspective of his two other teammates. Nope. He felt something tighten up down south and he groaned vexedly.

“Oh come on...”

Jaune dropped onto his mattress as the tower ascended once again. Pyrrha was going to take a while in the shower, that was for sure.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Jaune heard the door creak open. He raised head off the covers of his bed to catch his partner wrapped in two damp towels: a turban for her hair and a mantle for the rest of her bare body. Something he got used to since they started rooming together. Nothing to be bothered with.

Well, up until he walked in on her...

“My turn?”

Pyrrha nodded shakily. A little too shakily. Nervously, he could tell. “Y-yes. Y-you're turn, Jaune. S-sorry.”

Jaune raised a brow and sighed. Picking himself up, he made his way to the bathroom where the first thing to greet his weighted eyes was their collective toilet. It was going to take him some time to get rid of that detailed memory of Pyrrha sitting there. With her hand between her legs. That were brunched up. While the other cupped one of her mounds. Her face expressing pure ecstasy.

He shook his head hard enough to throw some dandruff off his scalp. Nope.

On the bright side, his morning routine went smoothly. All he had to do was think about his sisters and the tower immediately crumbled. After all, Pyrrha was like a sister. Right?

Right.

I think.

Jaune sighed. Team RWBY was fortunate they didn't have to worry about this.

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: May 16, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: May 16, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: May 16, 2018 [FFN]**


	5. Spoon

Jaune was freezing.

And he wasn't the only one. Either Beacon was seriously underfunded or there was something going on in the shadows that demanded intense financial upkeep at the cost of basic student accomodations. Seriously, did they really think that each team could handle subzero temperatures? Sure, the weather was getting colder as the months cycled to the end of the year.

But come on! No thermostat? No proper ventilation? No working radiators? Not even a damn candle and some matches to provide warmth? Did they expect them to cook up fire Dust from the labs like drug dealers or something? Alas, they had to resort to their own methods for keeping warm.

Jaune craned his head across the room to the two hulking masses sitting atop Ren's bed. Nora forced him to borrow (beg for) extra blankets from the custodians. They gave him two. Those two were now wrapped around the bubbly ginger who had thought up the brilliant idea that she cuddle with Ren to produce more heat to which the stoic boy nodded in agreement. And let himself be swallowed up in an unbreakable bear hug.

It was like observing two sloths cocooned atop a log at the Vale Zoo.

“Hey, Pyr?”

“Yes, Jaune?”

“You ever think Ren and Nora would, you know, come to that realization that, you know,” he whispered. “They're technically... _together-together_?”

Pyrrha regarded the drowsy pair then chuckled into her palm. “In time, perhaps.”

Jaune nodded. Made sense. Take it slow, as some people would have done.

“Hey, Pyr?”

“Yes, Jaune?”

“You're a little tight on my waist.”

“Oh.” Pyrrha carefully loosened her embrace on his midsection only to press herself further into his side, her chest squeezing against his bicep. “Sorry. It was getting cold.”

“I knew I should've gotten extra blankets,” he sighed. One blanket for the two of them? Courtesy of Nora hogging all the comforters (including Pyrrha's) except Jaune's. The cold was seeping through the fabric despite their shared body heat.

“This is fine, Jaune,” she answered dreamily. “Spooning will have to do.”

“Yeah.” Screw it, he thought. His sisters did this all the time during the cold seasons. Lying on the same bed, them hugging him, sometimes a little too tight that it was getting hard to breathe. Only this time, it was his partner hugging him. With the strength of a starved Ursa. Making it slightly hard to breathe. “Pyrrha... My diaphragm...”

“Oh, sorry.” Pyrrha readjusted her arms then cuddled some more.

“Are you that cold? You know, I could always try to borrow a blanket from team RWBY—”

“No, that's fine! It's fine, Jaune.”

He raised a brow at her. “You sure? I mean, I'm practically sweating already.”

“Even better~...”

Jaune stared at her. Was it really that time of the month? Pyrrha was acting weird again. She had this goofy smile on her face for the past couple hours. And...was she drooling on him? Really? He nudged her. “Pyr. Uh, Pyr?”

“Huh? Oh...” She lazily wiped her lips then went back to spooning him. “Goodnight, Jaune~...”

The blonde knight shrugged. Screw extra blankets. He wasn't freezing anymore. “Goodnight, Pyr.” He craned his head towards the other two members of his team. “Goodnight, Ren. Goodnight, Nora.”

“Goodnight.”

“Night-night, Jaune-Jaune!”

With a stifled yawn, he reached over to the antique lamp on his nightstand and pulled the chain. Their dorm room went pitch black. It wasn't so cold anymore. Time to get some rest—

“Uh, Pyr? Pyr. Pyrrha.”

“Hmm~...?”

“Your hand is, uh, misplaced.”

“Oh... Sorry~...”

“Should I leave the light on?”

“No, no... It's fine... It's really fine~...”

Jaune sighed and nuzzled his head onto his pillow. He was beginning to suspect that the cold was messing up Pyrrha's monthly cycle. She was being completely weird. She was spooning him really, really tightly that he wouldn't be surprised if they weren't sweating from their combined body heat come morning. That or his ribs would have been crushed from the sheer pressure of her arms.

On the bright side, by some miracle, he wasn't getting an itch tonight. Yay!

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: May 21, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: May 22, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: May 21, 2018 [FFN]**

**NOTE: A friend of mine asked me to spoon her once. She was already being spooned by her boyfriend. He looked at me with this cheeky smile that said 'just do it, man' to which I silently replied, 'screw that, I'm out! I ain't going into a threesome with you two.'**

**If you're reading this, I'm (not) sorry. :D**


	6. Itches

Jaune was starting to notice a pattern here.

More and more often, Nora would drag Ren away for whatever it was she had in mind, leaving them during breaks or down-times in their schedules (when they weren't either in class, having team bonding sessions, or hanging out with team RWBY). And recently, Pyrrha would get flustered or grow stiff and start sweating. Usually, it was when they were by themselves as a group. That and he was becoming suspicious himself that someone (other than himself) was using up all the tissues, especially when he needed to clean up after a sudden itch.

So Jaune went with team RWBY on a weekend shopping trip in Vale to gather toiletries and other basic student necessities because Beacon was notoriously lacking those student necessities. Obviously, Nora disappeared with Ren while Pyrrha stayed behind to prepare for one of their classes. That left the blonde wandering up the dorms carrying a handful of paper bags until he thudded against the door to their dorm room.

“Damn it.”

Jaune scrambled his purchases on top of one arm while the other fished into his back pocket to retrieve his scroll to trigger the synchronized lock. With a satisfied beep and a bright green flash, he pushed it open and stepped inside.

“Ah!”

“Whoa!”

The blonde nearly stumbled back but caught himself in time to not scatter everything on the floor. Quickly, he plopped the bags on their study table and righted himself to see who had locked themselves in their...dorm...room... Oh.

“Hey, Pyr. I thought you were at the library.”

“Uh, I was, um...I thought it was, uh, better to study here. In our room,” she stammered.

Made sense. Ren and Nora weren't back yet and it was already dusk. Nothing off with Pyrrha snuggled in her bed, her sheets pulled up to her midriff, a single arm held out to balance a book with the title 'Ninjas Of Love' emblazoned in bright red on the cover while her other arm was buried deep under the blanket...

Wait.

“'Ninjas Of Love'?” Jaune worded with a brow raised.

Pyrrha visibly stiffened, her eyes nearly bugging out of her sockets. Come to think of it, she was sweating quite a bit; loose strands of her hair were sticking to her skin. “Uh, um, I-I can explain—”

He waved her off while chuckling. Of course. “I know studying can get tedious and boring. I won't stop you. My sisters read romance novels to unwind so I understand.” Jaune turned his back to fish into the bags for the extra tissues he bought (mostly for himself, of course) and other necessities like shampoo, soap, earbuds, toothpaste, pancake syrup...the usual.

He made to carry these into their communal bathroom when Pyrrha called out, “Jaune, can I, uh, have a roll of tissue...p-please?”

“Sure.” He handed her a spare.

She put down the book and reached out to get it. “T-thanks.”

“Uh, you okay there, Pyr?”

“I'm fine, thank you.”

“Did you hurt your arm? Did you pull a muscle?”

“No! N-no, j-just, uh, I'm fine!” And with that, she shoved him back before suddenly turning away on her side and burying herself under the covers.

Jaune blinked. “Huh. Okay.” Then he gathered the rest of their supplies and began restocking the lavatory.

Pyrrha was acting really weird. Didn't her time of the month pass already? Come to think of it, the oddity of it all was coming together towards some conclusion that eluded him somehow. While replacing the shampoo and soap on the rack, he glanced over at the waste bin which was strangely filled to the brim with used tissues. Then it dawned on him...

His partner sweating, hand under the covers, this really focused and flustered look on her face as she read through some kind of period novel. She was nervous when he walked in. Was she...?

No. Nah. She couldn't be.

Well, he did walk in on her right there on the toilet that one time but...

Nope. Nope! Not going to go that direction. Get those thoughts out of your head, Jaune! She's your partner. Nope. Carnal needs, carnal needs. Everyone has them, him included. Perfectly normal for hormonal teens. No need to envision that again. Not that it wasn't an arousing scene but NOPE.

Jaune adamantly refused to admit that he walked in on Pyrrha while she was masturbating again. Mainly to stem his mind from conjuring any lewd fantasies that might fuel his itch. That would be damn fucking awkward.

* * *

Three nights later, Jaune suddenly froze in his bed, his hand still in the process of scratching his itch.

“Jaune? Are you...are you alright?” Pyrrha asked in a tired voice.

Shit. She just woke up. Was he that loud? Had he been moving around a lot? Did he rustle his sheets so much?

He blinked. And remembered that he was lying on his side. Facing her completely, his blanket stopping short of his shoulders. The light from the shattered moon shone through the slit in the curtains, illuminating her wide green pupils staring curiously back at him.

“Uh, I'm fine, Pyr.”

“Are you sure?” She sat up, her long unkempt hair rising from her pillow, coating her slender muscled arms propping her up. “You look...constipated.”

“Ah, just, um...uh...” Think, Jaune, think! “Just...passing gas. Yeah, passing gas. That's it! S-sorry about t-that.”

“Oh. Um, okay.” She was puzzled for a moment before an odd expression crossed her face. It lingered for a moment, her eyes slightly narrowing, tracing his form. “Are you sure it's not...um...something else?”

The blonde hated lying. What for? His pride? His already awkward relationship with his partner? Who was most likely catching on right now? He gulped. “Just...go back to sleep, Pyr. It's fine.”

She stared at him. Scrutinizingly. Then her head fell back down. “Alright. Goodnight, Jaune,” she imparted tiredly.

Jaune waited until he was sure she was completely asleep before retracting his hand. Well. That killed his itch. Good thing, right?

He flopped onto his back and sighed at the ceiling. Yeah. She knew. She fucking knew. In a way, they were even. He caught her, she caught him (somewhat). On the bright side, at least Ren and Nora were completely out. He shuddered at what would have happened if either of them (or _both_ of them) caught him in the act instead of his own partner.

“By the way, Jaune,” Pyrrha suddenly piped, “don't use up so many tissues.”

He grimaced in shame and overflowing embarrassment. “I'll leave some for you then.”

“Thank you. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Damn it. Coeducational lodging sucks sometimes.

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: June 17, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: June 19, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: June 17, 2018 [FFN]**

**NOTE: Admit it. We all experienced getting caught in the act at least once in our lives. It's part of growing up, after all.**

 


	7. Frequency

Jaune was exhausted.

It had been a grueling week. The sudden string of long exams and field exercises were taxing enough. And then Pyrrha had noticeably been more and more aggressive during their nightly training sessions that he was actually considering the absurd theory that she may be on a permanent period.

He slid down onto his bottom, panting and drenched in sweat, Crocea Mors sitting in his slackened grip. His joints ached and he almost believed his wrist snapped from parrying a rather heavy strike from his partner. Said partner was leaning on his shoulder, also in a similar state of exhaustion.

One could say they were both wet. Very wet.

Jaune shuddered. Context, please. They were moist and damp from their own sweat. Wait. That sounds so wrong. Damn it.

“Jaune~...?”

“Yeah, Pyr?”

“I was wondering. How...how often do you, um...t-t-to-tou—”

The blonde knight raised a concerned brow. “How what? You alright?”

“I'm fine! I'm just curious,” the redhead deflected.

Was it him or were the lighting in the gym so poor that her cheeks were as red as her hair? “Curious about what?”

“Well, you know, ah...” She cycled her hands, making unfamiliar gestures until she finally worded out, “How often do you...touch yourself?”

Jaune blinked. Whut? “Say again?”

Pyrrha sighed exasperatedly. “How often do you touch yourself, Jaune?”

In the back of his mind, he swore he could hear the electrical whine of some kind of outdated computer program crashing and rebooting. He leaned his head back as he tried to stare at anything other than her curious face. “Ah, hah, wha-what do you mean, Pyr? I mean, I, uh, I touch myself all over to see if I have any injuries but I don't get injured a lot now lately thanks to your training and my Aura and all that—”

His partner planted a firm hand over his chest plate. “Jaune. How often do you masturbate?”

And that was when his brain momentarily shut down.

Pyrrha spent thirty seconds shaking him awake. “Jaune. Jaune, are you alright? Jaune!”

He blinked. And realized that his eyes had been absently centered over her cleavage. Quickly glancing away, he coughed out, “Ah, I think I heard you wrong there, Pyr. For a moment, I thought you asked me how often I, you know, scratch my itch—”

She gripped his arm, her determined emerald pupils boring into him. “How often?”

“W-w-what?”

“Jaune. How often do you 'scratch your itch?' Please answer me.”

“Why are you even asking?” he nearly screamed out. He could have flailed his arms for added effect but said ligaments were held down to his sides by her iron grip.

“I'm only...curious,” she answered dreamily.

“Why!? Was it because we kept smashing into each other while sparring? Oh dear me... Are you...are you aroused?” This can't be happening.

“Jaune~...please answer.”

He let out a long tired sigh. To think that catching each other in the act of self-pleasure was the end of it. Then again, hormone fever never ended in a fortnight. “Once or twice.”

“Not three or four times?”

Jaune groaned. “Some weeks are just so stressful that, yeah, I, uh, go for extra.” Please be the end of it. Please be the end of it! This was getting way, way, waaaaaay too awkward.

“Mmm~... Okay. I pleasure myself at least once a week.”

“I did not need to know that,” he squeaked. Dear sweet heavenly divines above, the tower was rising! Quick, cover it up with Crocea Mors.

“Tell me, Jaune. How big are you?”

Son of a bitch, WHY!? “Uh, I...I'm six foot, one...”

“Not your height,” she corrected with a foggy grin that reminded him of those alleyway junkies who kept getting high on low-grade Mistralian nose powder. “I mean down there. How big are you down there?”

“Why are we even talking about this?”

“There's no harm in knowing. Besides, it's only between the two of us. Ren and Nora don't have to know.”

But _you_ do, he refrained from retorting. Jaune looked around to remind himself that, yes, they had the whole gym to themselves. With the direction their conversation was going, there were so many different scenarios they could end up in later. Not that he didn't find any of them displeasing. Just...uncomfortable. “I don't measure myself and I'm not keen into checking others so I don't have a frame of reference for _that_...”

“Guess,” she half-requested, half-ordered.

Best to humor her and be done with it. Hopefully. Despite being alone, Jaune leaned in and whispered his best estimate. Her eyes went wide and she raised her spear upright. Two fingers were spread over a section of the shaft as she silently asked to confirm the length she just heard. Grumbling, the blonde reached over to correct the measurement, his cheeks practically burning.

“Happy now?”

Pyrrha nodded. Then beamed. “Guess my cup size.”

Oh for the love of— “C.”

“Oh my. You actually got it right on the first try.”

Goddamn it. Lucky guess. “Are we done here? Can we talk about something else?” Jaune shook his head and stood up. “You know what? I think I need a shower.”

“Me too.”

Pyrrha followed after him into the hall. As they made their way down the corridor, the blonde noticed how tightly his partner snaked her arm around his. This couldn't possibly mean anything, right?

Right?

* * *

To Jaune's relief, they had trained well into night when the hallways were empty save for the janitor who barely paid them any mind. At least, Ren and Nora were back. Pyrrha unlatched herself before they entered their dorm room and he let her have the first run in the lavatory while he collapsed onto his bed.

Well. His relationship with his partner has just gone in a whole new direction and one that he was largely unprepared for.

“You okay, Jaune?”

“I'm fine, Ren. Thanks for asking.”

“You sure about that, Jaune-Jaune? Looks like Pyrrha worked you hard.”

“Yeah. She did.” Very, very hard and very, very uncomfortable. Not that he was complaining but still.

Ren shrugged and went back to finishing his paper while the Nora reapplied her headphones and continued reading her book...with an oddly familiar title.

“Is that...'Ninjas Of Love'?” Jaune had to ask.

“Oh, this one? Yeah, Blake lent it to me. It's really good,” Nora beamed.

“Right.” Period novels were never his thing. Best to leave it to those who like that stuff. Hmm. So that was Blake's book. That was one more tidbit Jaune learned about one of the members of team RWBY. He wondered what it was about. Eh, the blonde knight could care less. Right now, he wanted to forget that awkward conversation and move on.

Jaune sighed. Did Headmaster Ozpin ever consider these kinds of scenarios when he implemented this system of student housing? Seriously.

* * *

Later that evening, Jaune was halfway into dreamland when he heard Pyrrha's voice echo towards him.

“Jaune? Are you awake? I just wanted to say...I'm sorry.”

“What? Pyrrha, what?”

She refused to meet his gaze, instead letting her hair flow freely over the side of her head while she stared very deeply onto their carpet. “For asking those...sensitive questions.”

Jaune exhaled. He leaned slightly. Yep. Ren and Nora were clearly asleep. What time is it? Oh. One in the morning. Sitting up slightly, he rubbed his eyes so he could focus on his partner sitting very bashfully on her bed. “It's okay, Pyr. We all get...curious sometimes about...certain things. It's, uh, probably normal?”

Yeah. Normal. Hormones and all that.

“Y-you're not...m-mad?” she stammered.

“Why would I be?” More confused and very terrified, actually. “Pyrrha, I get that maybe you're going through some suppressed estrogen rush or something but it's fine. Believe me, it's fine.”

She looked at him. Apologetic green orbs hovering over bright red cheeks. “A-are you sure?”

“Hey. It's fine.” Jaune reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder to assure her as much as he wanted to assure himself the same thing. He retracted it after she stiffened.

“You know...I'm being honest with you...I was, um, how did you say it? Uh...I was yearning to...'scratch my itch' awhile back. It was hard to resist. I...I didn't want to so...I woke you up.”

The blonde knight blinked. “Oh. O-okay. Um, right.”

Awkward silence.

“Hey, it's part of growing up, right? We'll grow out of it soon enough,” Jaune reasoned.

Pyrrha nodded. “Yes. That's true.”

He decided to deal with this issue once and for all. Taking a deep breath, he carefully filtered through the words before speaking. “So I guess this means...you scratch yours, I scratch mine?”

She blushed hard. “Um, o-okay. Th-that makes sense.”

Jaune gulped despite feeling slightly relieved. He was afraid this was getting worse. Maybe something to lighten the mood? With a weak chuckle, he choked, “H-hey, at least it Ren and Nora don't know, right? Eh? Eh?”

“Um, they actually do.”

What?

“Ren constantly bribed Nora with sweets, pancakes, and trips to the confectioneries in Vale to keep her from, well, 'unintentionally costing you your dignity.' His words, not mine.”

Oh. So that explains the constant disappearances by the other half of their team. Jaune fell back onto his bed. “Well, I guess nobody outside of this dorm room knows then. Right?”

“Yes. And I intend to keep it that way.”

“Likewise.”

Crickets.

“So Jaune...”

“Yes, Pyr?” He could hear her rubbing her toes against the bristles on the rug. Nervous tic.

“Do you...feel like scratching tonight?”

Okay, that's it. Enough is enough. Jaune pulled the sheets over himself and turned to face the wall before his tower would rise. “Pyrrha, go to sleep. Now.”

“Okay! S-sorry!”

Jaune hated coeducational lodging sometimes.

* * *

The following morning, at breakfast, after Nora happily returned Blake her novel (to which the cat faunus quickly slapped her hands over the cover and swiped it under the table while brushing away the curious inquiries of her teammates), she noticed how oddly haggard the Jaune and Pyrrha were. They were unusually reserved, took small bites out of their food, and mostly tried to avoid eye contact with each other.

Something was amiss. Blake glanced to her side and, sure enough, Weiss also noticed. Ruby was busy gorging on her pancakes while Yang listened raptly to Nora's exaggerated recollection of her dream. Ren, as usual, was being Ren.

“Ooh! I forgot. Something really cool happened this morning,” beamed the bubbly ginger.

“What is it?” asked the blonde brawler.

“Jaune and Pyrrha both had wet dreams together!”

And that was when all seven teens either choked on their food or spat them out on the table. That and the rest of the cafeteria fell silent as they felt the curious stares from the other students.

“It was like they were in sync! I mean, we all woke up this morning and they had to change their sheets so—”

“Nora!” Ren practically hollered, almost leaping over to plant his palms over her big mouth. “That's enough!”

“But Re~en... It's like a one in a million chance of happening. Like a blue shattered moon or a meteor shower!”

As the conversation slowly got back up to speed (and got way more animated courtesy of a very interested Yang, a curious Ruby, and a horrified Weiss), Blake could only offer sympathetic nods to the blonde knight and the Mistralian champion, both of whom were now silent, flustered, and probably planning on how to hide Nora's body.

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: June 19, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: June 20, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: June 19, 2018 [FFN]**

**NOTE: This was inspired by a conversation I had with a friend of mine a couple months back. Some of the questions up there were actually verbatim what she asked me. In the middle of a crowded street. At a time when the nearby high schools and colleges dismissed their students.**

**It was awkward, confusing, and slightly embarrassing.**

**So please be careful with what you ask, where you ask it, and why you're asking it.**


	8. Purchase

This was so wrong on so many levels.

Or rather, Jaune's more rational side argued, this _felt_ so taboo across a vast spectrum of societal norms. For crying out loud, how many times did he (completely on accident with absolutely no intent whatsoever) drop Pyrrha's name while brushing the shaft? He didn't mean to! It was the damn hormones. Yeah. The hormones made him say it. The hormones were always making him do this.

He hissed into his pillow just as he was hitting that spot. Need to get that itch that was getting to him for the past couple hours now. He was getting close.

Almost there...

“Jaune?”

Shit.

He sighed. Well, at least it was Pyrrha. As usual, Ren and Nora were too far into dreamland to be even aware of what was going on. Still, it felt pretty damn awkward knowing that she knew and that he knew that she also did what he was doing as frequently as he was doing it.

“H-hey, Pyr. Um. Tissues?”

“I'm right here, Jaune.”

Was it him or did Pyrrha sound a mote bit irritated? Probably because he woke her up. It was like, what, two in the morning? Oops. His bad. “Sorry to wake you. I'll try to be quieter. And, uh, tissues, please?”

“Turn around.”

Sighing, he shuffled around, scrunching at the uncomfortable squelch of something warm down there. To think his tower would crumble when he'd see his partner (-in-crime) but NOPE. There she was in the light of the shattered moon with her piercing green hues staring intensely at him, red unkempt hair cresting over her shoulders and flowing down her bare brea—

Wait.

Jaune blinked. He would have rubbed his eyes but that would mean contaminating his pupils with the mess from down south.

“You've been saying my name.”

Oh. Shit.

Fuck me. No! NO! Not _that_ meaning. He meant it as an expression of frustration! As in 'fuck me, I'm screwed' or 'fuck me, I'm going to die' kind of meaning. Not literally do him, right? Sure, Pyrrha was very attractive and had that absolute ideal body form with the fine curves, toned muscles, and glistening skin made better when moist, damp, and drenched in crystal clear water...

Pyrrha was clamoring over now. Was this for real?

Jaune blinked again. She wasn't wearing anything. Oh no, she wasn't wearing anything! Wait, wait, WAIT! This can't be real! He isn't ready! She's his partner, his _friend_ —he's too far out of her league. There are better guys out there, why him!? Not that he was complaining about this golden opportunity but still.

“Jaune~...”

“Y-y-yeah, P-pyr?”

Her breath smelled like chocolate. High-grade, Mistralian dark chocolate. She probably would be sponsoring that brand soon. But she was right in front of him, eyes glazed over with lust, hot breath on his lips, tongue dripping with saliva, just ready and waiting for him to take.

Jaune gulped. No. Yes. No. Yes. No! Yes! NO! YES! Just do it! He grabbed her squishy face and plunged deep.

His pillow tasted like goose down.

* * *

Damn wet dream. This was becoming disturbingly common. How many times did he have to change the sheets? Jaune hoped he wouldn't be on laundry duty this week. Soiled panties and stained bedsheets were piling up in their collective bin in the corner.

Stepping out of the shower in nothing but a towel, his attention was quickly drawn to a neatly taped box sitting on his partner's bed with the sender details conveniently tacked over by postage stamps.

“Hey, Ren. What's that?”

“Delivery from Atlas. Pyrrha's order.”

“Oh.” Okay. So Pyrrha ordered something.

“They got it wrong the first time so she had to send it back after a few days,” Nora butted in to which Ren, surprisingly, gave her the stink eye.

“Huh.” He hazarded a guess. “Pair of gloves maybe? Finding the right size for those must be hard.” Or probably a custom-made weapon modification or something along those lines. Eh, not his place to intrude. After all, he knew way too much about her than he needed to.

“She said it wasn't big enough.”

“Nora,” Ren hissed.

“Really? She could have mine.” Jaune had packed a spare pair of working gloves in case Beacon had one of those vocational field courses but then his Aura took care of the blisters in his hands so they were technically useless. Besides, his partner might find some use for them. “I don't use it much often but I think my size fits hers well enough.”

Ren and Nora choked.

“You guys alright?”

“Nothing to worry about us, fearless leader!” chirped a very, very chipper Nora as she suddenly held Ren in a headlock and dragged him outside the room.

“Where are you two off to now?” Jaune asked.

“Ren owes me...sweets!”

The blonde knight nearly coughed. Right. Sure. If Ren had been giving him sympathetic looks, then it was his turn to offer his brother-from-another-mother the same, blue as the stoic boy was from the lack of oxygen and blood flowing to his head.

“Nora...! Breathe...! My trachea...”

“Later, Renny. When we're far, far away~...”

Jaune exhaled. Great. Maybe he could take that as a blessing? He didn't know. He shut the door and was halfway undoing the knot on the towel over his waist when it clicked open. His body froze up on instinct and his hand would reached out to his hip where normally Crocea Mors would have been sheathed had he not remembered that he was completely naked.

“Sorry!”

He gripped tight on his towel, now loose and on the verge of falling off completely. At least his waist was still covered. For now. The fabric was slipping. Just wait for Pyrrha to leave and he could bolt back into the shower. Any second now.

Any second now.

Any second—

“Pyrrha?”

“Yes?”

“Privacy, please?”

“Oh! Right. S-sorry!” And Pyrrha, in her sweat-drenched jogging tights—Jaune could feel the tower rising, goddamn it—backed into the hall and swung the door closed. Her cheeks were very red but so were his. The blood was pumping up north and down south, that was for sure.

* * *

Fully changed, Crocea Mors sheathed, mind at peace (somewhat), Jaune was ready to take on the weekend. “You have our shopping list?”

Pyrrha nodded. “What about Ren and Nora? I haven't seen them since this morning.”

He scratched the back of his head nervously. “Ah, well... I think they went on ahead.”

“Hmm. I suppose they did.”

The bullhead was still docking and they had yet to extend the gangway so the blonde decided to crack the ice. “So...I'm curious. What was in that box? Not that I mean to pry but, you know, I'm just, well...curious.”

At that, Pyrrha suddenly turned very red. She looked away as she sputtered, “Ah, i-it's n-nothing really. Some, uh, m-made to fit order.” She coughed. “The last one wasn't to scale.”

“I could lend you mine.”

She choked. Hard. What is it with his teammates randomly choking?

“I mean, getting something custom fit is really frustrating. I know; I've had a few orders flubbed because they got the size wrong and sometimes I get my own measurements wrong so I end up too big to fit in it.” Jaune remembered squeezing into those ridiculous fancy white gloves and tailor-made suits that were either too small or too large. Mostly too small but still, could anyone get his body measurements any more wrong? Or was his growth spurt that rapid? He did outgrow half his wardrobe.

“Y-you put it in already?” Pyrrha asked quietly, if not timidly.

“Yeah. It was...really tight.” The blonde knight shrugged at the memory of having to force his feet into children's shoes. Part of the reason why he dreaded shopping with his sisters. “Hurt but I managed to get it in. And get out in one piece too. Heh, I almost thought it cut my circulation but after some wiggling and legroom, it wasn't so bad.”

“O-oh. Um, that's...informative,” she stammered.

He shrugged. “Yeah. Hey, at least, when I'm shopping with you, we can get the specs right. You know, for anything needs measurements.”

At that, the gangway connected with the pier and Jaune found himself having to tug a strangely catatonic Pyrrha (was she drooling?) on-board despite being usually the other way around because of his motion sickness. Speaking of which, they were both in strange states of distress for the whole ride—him fighting to hold in his breakfast and his partner trying to, well, stay sane.

Odd.

* * *

Jaune pushed the cart further up the aisle as Pyrrha ran through their grocery list.

“Window cleaner.”

“Check.”

“Snacks and drinks.”

“Check.”

“Tissues.”

“Big check on that.”

“What else do we need? Oh. That's right.” Pyrrha crossed in front of him to reach for a bottle on the rack. “Almost forgot this.”

“Conditioner?”

She tensed at that. Then she swirled on her heels with her uneasy sponsorship grin as she held it behind her back. “Yes, conditioner! My hair requires, uh, delicate care.”

Jaune looked at the brands lining the rack. “But these are all skin oils and lotions.”

“Oh? Ah, well, I needed hand lotion as well.” Then, in a swift motion that appeared to be nothing but a blur to the blonde knight, his partner planted the bottle underneath the pile of chips, biscuits, and chocolates before disappearing behind the aisle. “I'll go get some conditioner.”

“Sure thing.” Pyrrha was taking this awkwardness to a whole new level. Maybe she was just being nervous being around him now that they knew about each other's private times.

Jaune sighed. Hey. It was part of coeducational lodging, after all. With all this puberty going around, he probably should start preparing for when she might jump him randomly and start fu—

Nope. Nope! NOPE! Not the time and place for those thoughts. Save those for tonight. In case Beacon would start blocking porn (which, for reasons he refused to think about, the Academy had no filter on), he could fall back on that. Man, it felt so wrong (but so right).

Yeah. Nothing wrong with fantasizing about his partner. Sure, she was way out of his league and it might jeopardize their friendship but there's no denying him the right to imagine.

Jaune pushed the cart further up until he reached the register. By then, Pyrrha had saddled up to him and dropped a bottle of conditioner, some extra soap, and three different brands of lotion. He made to ask her why so many until he saw the distant, almost manic look in her eyes. Ah well, better to be stocked than to run out when you needed it the most.

* * *

Later that evening, following a near-exhaustive team leader session between him, Ruby, Cardin, and Coco (which ended explosively...and he would rather leave it at that), Jaune was about to open the bathroom door to relieve himself when Nora tackled him and dragged him halfway across their room. Thankfully, Ren leapt in and pried her off.

“Nora!”

“You can't go in there!” she hollered.

“What? Why?”

“Because Pyrrha's trying her new se—”

Ren clamped a tight hand over her mouth. “She's testing her new weapons modifications.” He cleared his throat despite nearly losing his composure for a bit. “Very volatile parts. Just to be safe.”

Jaune hummed. “Oh. Right. It's that package, huh. Shouldn't she be doing that in the workshop? I mean, she could oil and other bits scattered over the tiles and that's hard to clean up.”

“She found it more convenient in the bathroom,” the stoic boy replied shakily.

“Yep,” Nora hastily agreed. “So you can't go in there. Nope. Nada, Jaune-Jaune.”

“She's not going to take long, is she?”

“Hopefully not,” breathed Ren who somehow was trying to find something interesting to look at on their nondescript wall.

“Fine. I can hold it in,” the blonde acquiesced. He clamored over his bed and took out his scroll. Conveniently, his was positioned closest to the lavatory so that made access quick. As he lay there, he could not help but hear a strange loud humming noise. “Say, you guys hear that?”

“Hear what, Jau—oh.” Nora's cheeks went pink for some reason when she heard the noise. She suddenly put her headphones on, suddenly buried deep into Ninjas Of Love. Wasn't she done with that novel already?

“Put it out of your mind,” Ren advised from across the room.

“But it's loud and...” Jaune paused. Sure, he was tired but his hearing was still sharp. “Is she saying my name?”

“Put it out of your mind,” he repeated rather forcefully.

The blonde, now curious and concerned for his partner, sat up and approached the door. He knocked twice. A high-pitched squeak and the noise stopped with a muffled click. “Pyrrha. You alright in there?”

“I'm fine! Sorry!”

“You sure? Ren said you got the parts you needed to upgrade your weapons or something. Do you need help?”

“No, no, no! It's...it's alright!”

She hesitated. No. She needs help. After all the assistance she gave him, it would be fair to give back. “Pyrrha, open up. Maybe I can help fix whatever's going on in there.”

“No! Wait, maybe but...no, no! You can't! I, uh, I need to, um...”

Jaune was about to press further when he finally recognized the noise. It was a machine. A hand-held electronic device that let out a buzzing hum when switched on. Could run on either battery power or could be recharged through an outlet. Of course. How did he not recognize such a tool! His sisters used it all time.

“Are you shaving in there?”

“... Yes. Yes, Jaune. I'm shaving. Um, thank you for your concern.”

“Oh! I'm sorry,” he rebounded, panicking slightly. It made sense. Pyrrha was a celebrity so all the cameras would be covering every inch and every angle. Even with her (not so) conservative attire, she still held onto some dignity. Hairy legs were a definite no-no, if he knew as much as any girl did. “Uh, just make sure to clean up afterwards. Sweep up and put it all in the bin.”

“O-okay!”

That was a relief. And to think that he almost considered the alternate possibility wherein she was actually pleasuring herself with a made-to-order d—

Ren suddenly snaked his arm around the leader of team JNPR and purposefully dragged him away into the hallway. “We're going for a stroll in the gardens.”

“But it's getting late.”

“An evening stroll in the gardens to enjoy the calmness of the sky.”

“No fair, Renny!” Nora suddenly screamed. “I will get my hundred lien!”

By then, the two were already heading down to the corridor. “Are you guys betting?” Jaune demanded between gasps. “What's going on between you two?”

“Put it out of your mind.” Ren quietly added, “Besides, I need my hundred lien.”

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: June 25, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: June 28, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: June 25, 2018 [FFN]**

**NOTE: Many thanks to _Aetheling_ ,  _SpookyNooodle_ , and  _LaughingLefou_ for the banter and the ideas for this chapter as well as everyone else on the  _Work in Progress_ Discord. You guys are awesome! :)**

**Picnic and poolside episode coming soon.**


	9. Picnic

For all its inadequacies, Beacon had a nice recreational area which consisted of beautiful terraced gardens, trimmed plots of grass, and three pools: two for lounging and one massive deep one for athletic swimming. Mostly closed during the semester, it was opened up during breaks, particularly warm days, and the occasional heat wave.

Needless to say, on this very hot non-working holiday, a lot of students decided to take a nice cool dip. Mainly to kill the damn heat. Team JNPR, on the other hand, had other plans.

A relaxing picnic on Academy grounds, basking under the shade of the massive colonnades. Some sandwiches, pancakes, and the snacks they bought the other day. Maybe enjoy some tunes on their scrolls, strum a few songs on Jaune's guitar, and just have fun bonding as a team. What better way outside of sparring, hunting Grimm, and chasing troublemakers?

Jaune forwent his hoodie (for obvious reasons) and jeans, instead opting to try on the new cargo shorts and white shirt he got while shopping in Vale. He would have gone for something else but Pyrrha was very adamant that he settle for these, even going so far as to cover the expenses. Which seemed fair; in his experience, ladies almost always had the fairer sense in fashion.

So he was a little taken aback when he saw his partner in denim shorts, flip-flops, a cream crop top, and a straw sun hat. Not that he admired her physique but all that exposed skin...and muscles...and—

“Jaune? You ready to go?”

“Sure! Uh, let's,” he rebounded with a fidgety smile, picking up their goodie baskets and slinging his guitar over his shoulder.

“Ren and Nora should have found us a spot by now.”

“I'm sure they have, ha-ha!” Man, that was a nervous laugh right there. Get it together, Jauney boy! Picnic. Sandwiches. Skin—NO SKIN!

He mentally groaned as he followed his partner down the corridor. Look at the carpet, look at the wall, anything but that shape bouncing up and down the hall. Sweet heavens above, this cannot be happening today.

Itch now? Itch _no_!

Jaune grit his teeth. The tower was rising. Planting both goodie baskets in front of his pelvis, he snapped his head to the nearest thing he considered a distraction: the Beacon staff room. The door had been left completely jar, revealing the sole occupant in the lounge. Standing in front of an ornate mirror. Oblivious to the blonde freshman staring from the hallway as he audibly waxed over his own physique. Flexing his 'muscles.'

“Ho-hoh! Never lost your touch, Peter. Always strong and _virile_!”

The tower crumbled instantly and possibly even caved into a sinkhole. That image he would gladly carry for the rest of the day if only to kill the itch.

“Are you alright, Jaune? You look like you've seen the end of the world,” joked Pyrrha.

“I'm fine...” He blinked. Definitely fine. “Now where's our spot...”

* * *

“That was a nice song, Jaune,” Pyrrha remarked.

Jaune timidly scratched the back of his head, his guitar resting in his lap. “Ah, well, I've been working on it for awhile now. Been changing up the lyrics, you know.”

“It's perfect for a movie!” Nora cheered.

“Fitting soundtrack to a drama, perhaps,” Ren opined.

“Aww, guys. It can't be that good,” the blonde deflected meekly. “I mean, it's only four chords.”

“Punctuated by an enrapturing melody and a modulated bridge,” corrected his brother-from-another-mother. “Not to mention the fitting touch of the harmonics at the end.”

“Is that going to be your next Weiss song?” Nora teased.

Was it? Honestly, he was already considering seriously dropping the flirting. He was starting to think that there was no getting past her frosty exterior. Sure, she may not be interested but there was no harm in trying to be friends, right? So, no. Romantically not for Weiss. Instead, this is something different. Yeah. Definitely something different.

Jaune opened his mouth only to clamp it shut when he felt a bushy weight on his shoulder. Oh. It was just Pyrrha. She was leaning her head on his shoulder.

Click, flash, click, flash.

“Nora!”

“Let go, Renny! This is too perfect to ignore.”

“What are you guys doing?”

A whistle. Team JNPR angled up to see their sister team RWBY standing by, dressed in similarly revealing states of dress (for the warm day, of course) and holding up pool accessories. Yang had her arms planted on her sides, her cleavage near bursting out of the seams of her top, as she gazed down on them sporting a wicked grin that screamed playful malice.

“Getting all cute and cuddly, already?” she started.

“Let them be, Yang,” Weiss chastised, her pale slender legs tinted by the shadow of the colonnade.

“We're going to the pool,” Ruby injected, her cute lithe arms wrapped around her iconic red cape. “Want to come?”

Blake merely stood there, clad in slightly more conservative garb, attention focused on a book in her hand, waiting for the moment to pass.

“Ah, not today. S-sorry, girls,” Jaune replied, trying his best to ignore the vast amounts of skin standing on display for his testosterone-induced brain to bask in. Counter it with the unforgettable mental image of Professor Port in all his glory! “We're fine with hanging out here under the shade. Right, guys?”

“Sure!” burst Nora. “Come on, fearless leader! I'm about ready to jump in.”

“What? No, wait, this is supposed to be—”

In one swift motion, the bubbly Valkyrie shed her summer apparel to reveal a tight two-piece swimsuit. Ren lost his composure and fell flat on his back. Jaune could have sworn he saw something red spurt out of his nose.

“Nora!” the blonde knight hollered but it was too late.

She rushed across the open grounds, howling excitedly, passing astonished students, before hopping off the diving board and ripping up a wall of water that drenched everyone else who happened to be close to the poolside.

“Whoa, there! Guess it's time to jump in!” And Yang followed suit, ripping off her blouse, sprinting, and landing a solid cannonball in the middle of the pool. Ruby darted after her sister to which Weiss had to give chase leaving Blake to roll her eyes and stroll casually by.

Jaune looked to his right as Ren got up, his hand over the lower half of his face. “You okay there?”

“I'm fine,” he said stiffly before excusing himself and making for the dorms to clean up and change.

The blonde knight sighed. So much for a picnic. Ah, well, at least Pyrrha didn't ditch him.

“Jaune?”

“Yeah, Pyr?”

“Let's go swimming.”

Aw, crap. “Erm, I haven't brought my swimming trunks.”

“That's fine~...”

Whut? “S-s-say again?”

Pyrrha snapped to attention. “Nothing!”

“You want to go to the pool?”

His partner fidgeted, her fingers drawing circles on the blanket as she gazed at a butterfly fluttering over the tulips. “If you wouldn't mind, that is. Honestly, I am enjoying this picnic.”

Jaune mentally groaned. Perhaps there was no helping it. Everyone wanted to go to take a dip. He shrugged. Ah, well. At least Nora ate all the sandwiches so no food to be wasted here. Fine. “Nah. Swimming's fine. Come on. Help me fix all this up so we can get changed.”

Pyrrha lit up almost instantly. She practically leapt to her feet causing a pair to juggle momentarily before his very eyes. “That's great! I'll go get my swimwear.”

“Sure...” The blonde had to shake himself awake from that one. Right. But first, pack away all this stuff. “Um...a little help here, Pyr?”

“Oh, sorry.”

* * *

Pyrrha was lighter than he expected.

Not that it was a comment directed at her weight, no. Jaune would never incur a woman's wrath by way of her gains. He learned that the hard way seven times and more. As it stood, however, he could not help but enjoy his partner's thighs against his cheeks and his arms around her smooth shins as he carried her in the pool towards a manic, grinning Nora sitting on top of Ren.

“I'm won't be holding back!” she declared.

Pyrrha, herself a competitive spirit, playfully remarked back, “I'm waiting.”

Jaune had no idea how this was going to go down but he enjoyed it nonetheless. Water up to his chin, he smirked at Ren. “Is your neck hurting? 'Cause mine is.”

“I don't intend to give in so easily.”

“Okay. Wish me luck then.”

And he closed the gap. Above him, Pyrrha and Nora wrestled, trying to knock the other off their respective partner's shoulders all while Ruby and Yang cheered from the poolside. Throughout the whole ordeal, Jaune could feel Pyrrha's weight shift and press down on his neck. For a moment, he was afraid she might accidentally snap his spine. That was until he heard a squeak and she felt him slide off and splash into the water, dragging his head underneath.

“Victory!” hollered Nora.

“Relief,” breathed Ren.

Jaune burst onto the surface with Pyrrha following shortly thereafter. “Wow! That was fun.”

“I'm glad you enjoyed it,” the redhead replied coyly, an arm wrapping around his neck, drawing her close.

Before he knew it, she was straddling him, letting the current of the pool distribute her weight evenly over his lap as they treaded. Huh. He was getting this fuzzy feeling in his stomach. That and he could feel the inch between his chest and hers shrinking until all he could see was her glazed over eyes and her cute, warm smile and...

Whoa, boy! Hold it right there!

Jaune blinked. “P-pyrrha?”

“Yes, Jaune~?”

“You're, uh, a bit close, um...”

“That's fine...”

She had this dreamy look in her eyes that made him feel a little on edge. Jaune tried to pass it off as the heat but they were in cool water, gliding freely with the current. He felt his breath hitch in his throat when he felt her legs wrap around his waist and pull _tight_.

Okay. Easy there, Jauney boy. She's going through a phase. Don't think that maybe she's into you because that was an immense improbability. A combination of her period peaking and the heat was messing with her head. Yeah. That's it. It's just a phase, a hormone phase, a phase that would pass as soon as they were out of the water and the day was over and...

“Jaune~...”

“Y-y-yeah?”

“You look...nice.”

“Uh, hah, um, t-thanks. Y-you too.” He tried to look away only for her hands to grip the back of his head and force it gaze directly at her. Okay. Think. She was spooning him hard in a public pool. That cannot mean what he was thinking. And now he could see droplets running down her forehead, her lips glistening, pure emerald orbs piercing his intensely—DEAR SWEET DIVINES ABOVE, SHE'S CLOSING IN!

This can't be a dream. This is not a dream! This is for _real_! Breathe, Jaune, breathe. She's closing in. Is Pyrrha actually going to...?

“Holy cow, Vomit Boy, get a room!”

The blonde knight blinked. Naturally, he swiveled his head to find the source, completely forgetting about the redhead he left hanging inches from his mouth. “Wha—?”

“Damn it! There goes my hundred lien,” Nora barked.

“What the hell, Xiao-Long! I was about to win!” Cardin?

Yang had her hands planted firmly over Ruby's eyes as the younger sister flailed uselessly on the edge of the pool. “Seriously, if you're going to make out, do it in your dorm!”

“What?” Jaune was confused now. Were they going to make out? Like _make out_ make out? With Pyrrha of all people? “What's going on?”

All around the pool, people were staring. _Staring_. Over by the recliners, a visibly disgruntled Cardin handed lien cards to a smug Russell. Turning around, he caught Nora trying to squeeze 'her hundred lien' out of Ren. Then team RWBY... Well, Yang was pulling Ruby away while keeping her hands over her head while Weiss picked up her things and moved elsewhere leaving Blake to simply...observe them. Seriously, the way the bookworm was regarding them was...off-putting. No. It was disturbing. Like she was hungry or something.

“What the hell?”

“Damn it. So close,” he heard Pyrrha whimper.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

They floated awkwardly for another minute before Jaune cleared his throat. “So...are we gonna stay like this or...”

Pyrrha unlatched herself quickly. “Sorry!”

“No, no, it's fine.”

“... It is?”

Jaune scratched the back of his head nervously. “Yeah, I mean. I didn't really mind.” He really didn't. There was nothing wrong with spooning. It was only a bit uncomfortable that they were spooning in front of the entire student body. And in their swimwear, too.

“So.”

“So.”

Okay. Now this was awkward. In fact, how often were these awkward situations? Seriously, all they ever did was openly share how much they scratched their itch and now they were getting passive-aggressive with each other as though they were both afflicted with a plague. Jaune breathed deep and decided to put an end to this. Maybe he could complement her lingerie or something. Anything to break the ice—

“MY EYES!”

Like everyone else, Jaune and Pyrrha swirled to see SWEET SKIES ABOVE WHAT IS THAT!?

“Ho-hoh! A lovely day for a swim, is it not?”

“... Jaune... I feel lightheaded.”

Jaune snaked his arms around his partner as she floated loosely in the water. “I got you, Pyr. Breathe in, breathe out.”

“Ah! I see you admire the masterpiece you see before you. No need to fret. It is normal to feel envy at the result of decades of a Huntsman's hard life,” Professor Port pridefully declared, adopting pose after shameless pose atop one of the now vacated recliners. “In time, you, too, children will carve out an equally fine form. Patience, experience, and _vigor_! Hua! Ha-hah! Ho-hoh!”

Having already seen all this beforehand, Jaune was probably the least affected. Not entirely immune but scarred enough to tolerate the walking thonged 'masterpiece' while everyone else seemed to either faint or flee (mostly flee). That was until he caught sight of Professor Goodwitch climbing up the lifeguard's nest. His eyes remained glued to their physically fascinating combat instructor until she reached the top and disrobed...

Seeing Professor Port was enough to kill his itch only for Professor Goodwitch to balance the restricted blood flow out his nose, her stern facade notwithstanding. Well, at least it couldn't get any worse, right?

“Hey, guys,” queried Yang from across the pool. “Is that...Professor Oobleck in a speedo?”

“ _Doctor_ Oobleck!” corrected their history instructor as he appeared at the edge of the diving board, pulling wide stretches in preparation for a meticulously calculated dive. Jaune blinked. Wow. That was a lot of body hair.

“Jaune?”

“Yeah, Pyr?”

Pyrrha, nauseous as she was, wiped the blood off his upper lip. “I think we should go back to the picnic idea.”

He sniffed. “Yeah. Let's.”

* * *

“That was a lovely song, Jaune.”

“Thanks, Pyr.”

“Very soothing, Mister Arc.”

“Thank you, Headmaster.”

Needless to say, after showering and getting changed (again), Jaune and Pyrrha thoroughly enjoyed a nice afternoon picnic filled with music, tea, biscuits, and four thermoses of coffee with Professor Ozpin. So far, a nice day of bonding.

“Headmaster Ozpin?”

“Yes, Mister Arc?”

“If you don't mind me asking, sir. Err, are there...any plans to...um, you know, _readjust_ student lodging?”

“... There have been.”

“Oh. Any chance of, uh, implementing them? Like adding in room heating, or proper ventilation, and maybe cover the amenities for laundry and cleaning? You know... Basic maintenance and the stuff? And, well, emergency plans in case things get a little...wild...in...the dorms...”

“... No.”

“Oh. Okay. Pyrrha?”

“Don't worry, Jaune~... We could always find ways to keep warm on those cold nights.”

Yep. A nice day of bonding indeed.

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: June 25, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: June 28, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: June 28, 2018 [FFN]**


	10. Lesson

Jaune was scarred.

Grimm studies, Remnant history, and combat proficiency had never been this challenging. It was near impossible to take Professors Port, Oobleck, and Goodwitch seriously after seeing them in more...liberal attire...at the pool not too long ago. He was sure he was not the only one suffering this mental onslaught if the thousand-yard stares of almost every fellow freshmen was any indication.

While each student labored through their own therapy, Jaune relied on a trusted remedy from home: his acoustic guitar.

Music filled their dorm room. Relaxing music that brought warm childhood memories to his troubled mind. Strumming the chords, running the same soothing melodies, humming tunes that, in the words of his old man, 'would melt audiences like ice under the sun.'

Pfft. As if he had that charm. No way in hell was anyone swooning over his...

“Jaune?”

Jaune stopped playing. There in the doorway to their dorm stood his partner, fresh from the library with a few loaned books.

“Oh. Hey, Pyrrha.”

“That was...that's a nice song.”

Cue hand scratching the back of his head. It was a natural tic. “Err, well, it was nothing, really. Just something stupid I came up with...”

“Now, Jaune,” Pyrrha sternly countered with her arms planted firmly on her hips, the books replaced on their study desk. “You can't bring yourself down like that. Do you know how many people can play the guitar like you do?”

“Um, a lot?”

“In Beacon, you are the only one I know who has that talent in music.”

“Come on, Pyr. You're patronizing...”

“It's true, Jaune. Have you ever paid attention to anyone else in the school?” She sat down beside him on his bed. “If this is a hobby, then you're the only one I know who's the best at it.”

Right. Jaune resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He wasn't _that_ good. “You're a celebrity, Pyrrha. I'm sure you've met a lot of people who'd easily bowl me over with a sick lick—”

“Stop right there.”

“What? But I—”

“No. Jaune. Enough.”

“Enough of what?”

“Are we going to have this conversation again?” she snapped.

“What? No!” Jaune groaned. “Look, I know where you're getting at. And...you're right. X-ray and Vav isn't the only thing I'm a nerd at so...”

She smiled. “See? Don't let yourself down, Jaune. Believe me when I say that you're the best musician I've ever personally met...”

“Okay, now that's unrealistic.”

“...and who is also my dearest friend,” she added with her hand resting on his shoulder.

Dearest friend? Wow. Jaune beamed. Pridefully. Yeah. She was right. Maybe he did have some charm. Or maybe it was the guitar. He shook his head while chuckling. Yeah, definitely the guitar. “Thanks, Pyr. You're the best.”

Pyrrha blushed. She was blushing a lot now. And he was very confident that it was neither the weather nor her monthly cycle (Nora firmly educated him on that). That led to a glaring possibility that his not-so-rational mind consistently denied since the day they formed up as a team: Pyrrha Nikos, _the_ Pyrrha Nikos of Mistral, four-time tournament champion, 'Invincible Girl,' Miss Pumpkin Pete's, his very own partner...

...might actually have a thing for him.

If that was the case, then that would explain everything. _Everything_.

Jaune felt that thinking about it would be too much to handle so he started strumming, recycling that one melody that he had made up several days ago. It was a nice tune. Soothing. He was humming halfway through when he remembered that he had an audience.

“That's beautiful, Jaune.”

“Thanks.”

“Do you have a name for it?”

“A name? You mean a title? I...I haven't thought about that.”

“It sounds very soothing. Like a lullaby.”

“Heh, yeah, I guess so.” He shrugged. “I sort of just came up with it whenever I was thinking of home.”

“Home.” She sounded dreamy. Did she really like it that much? Like, it was just a simple chord progression with a melody that needed some work. “That would be a nice song name, don't you think?”

“Yeah. Home. I think I'll call this one Home. Now to think of some lyrics...”

“If you don't mind...” Pyrrha seemed a bit apprehensive now. “Can you...teach me?”

Jaune blinked. What? “Come again?”

“Can you teach me how to play?”

Oh. Well. That was unexpected. Then again, it made a bit of sense. She was an athlete with few known pastimes. He was a limp noodle with a lot of hobbies. Interestingly, they balanced each other out. The blonde knight paused to think; Pyrrha trained him to fight better. What better to give back than to teach him some tricks of his own?

“Sure! I'd love to.”

“O-oh! T-thank you. Um, how do we...?”

“Start?” Jaune smirked. It felt good to be the tutor for once. He handed her his guitar and guided her uneasy hands over it. “This is how you should hold it...”

“Oh. It's a little big.”

“Yeah. It's what I got so I rolled with it. A lot of people like it apparently.”

“So how do I...”

“Just wrap it around like that...and your fingers go here...”

“Oh! My nails are digging into it. Sorry! Should I clip them?”

“Err...later. Besides, they're not that long so it wouldn't hurt that much.”

* * *

Nora was frozen in front of the door to their room. With eyes wider than a tarsier, she had planted her head against the varnished oak, listening with rapt attention at what could be the most scandalous thing she had ever heard so far. And from her own team, no less!

“Nora, you're being unreasonable.”

“Shhh!”

Ren shrugged. “Let's just knock.”

“And interrupt their passionate booping!?” she very nearly screeched.

“You're jumping to conclusions,” he argued. “Jaune is only teaching Pyrrha how to play his guitar.”

“I'm sure he is,” Nora sniggered uncomfortably as she glued herself once again to the door.

Ren sighed. Perhaps it would be better to sit this one out. It was another Nora-ism, after all. Besides, he had done more than enough to preserve the dignity of his fellow bachelor.

* * *

“Am I doing it right?”

“The fingerings? Yeah.”

“But do I have to hold it so hard? I'm practically squeezing.”

“You don't have to grip it so tight. Your hand would get used to it in time.”

“And then I...do this?”

“Yeah.”

Pyrrha ran held her fingers tight against the fretboard, feeling the uncomfortable coils of the strings press into her calloused fingertips. She carefully brought her right hand down and heard the garbled mess that was her first guitar chord.

“I guess...I screwed that up? Sorry.”

Jaune chuckled. “That's fine. There's always a first time for everything.”

* * *

“You hear that, Ren!?” Nora hissed.

Ren exhaled. “Yes. That was Pyrrha strumming on his guitar.”

“That was Pyrrha's foot hitting the real guitar over and over again while her hand's are busy with our fearless leader's _GUI-tar_!”

The stoic boy shook his head. He was already thinking of a way to diffuse the upcoming misunderstanding from this charade.

* * *

“So this is A?”

“Yep.”

Pyrrha grimaced as she strained to readjust her fingers to the new formation. “And this is...E?”

Jaune reached over and eased her pinky off the third string. “There. That's E.”

She strummed. The chord came out cleaner this time which brought an excited grin on her face. “That sounds nice.”

“You're doing great. Now go to D.”

* * *

'She's going for the D?' mouthed a now visibly perturbed Nora. 'But I thought she was already working the D!'

Ren decided that enough was enough. He grabbed her hand and commenced the arduous task of dragging her down the corridor.

“Re~en! What are you doing?”

Good question. What exactly was he doing? Well, frankly, he was preventing this errant pebble of miscommunication from further snowballing into an avalanche of misunderstanding. How was he doing it? He had no honest idea. “We're going somewhere.”

“But we just came from somewhere!”

Think, young man, think! They already had a heavy late afternoon snack. Nora would only doze off in the library without entertainment. They had no classes for the rest of the day. Most of their homework was already turned in (regardless of how other people stereotype a girl like Nora, they completely overlooked the fact that she can be as diligent and apt a student as the best of them) so that left...a walk in the gardens?

“We're taking a walk.”

Nora seemed to buy it, at least. “Where to?”

“The gardens.”

“You're going to look at butterflies again?”

Maybe. “It's still sunny out. Let's enjoy the warm rays of sunshine while it still lasts.”

“Aww, but we can always do that another time!”

“It might rain.” Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it—

“... Good point.” She then began skipping, yanking his arm up and down so wildly that had it not been for his training and Aura, she would have practically ripped it off. “Come on, Renny! We're going for a walk~ we're going for a walk~ today's the day, hip-hip hooray~! We're going for a walk!”

* * *

Jaune could tell that Pyrrha was thoroughly enjoying this impromptu guitar lesson. It made him feel proud for her. Which was a surreal experience given that it usually the other way around but this he knew he would treasure for the rest of his life. He was basically training her!

“Additional practice and you'll get the hang of it,” he encouraged.

Pyrrha dipped her head to let her ponytail drape over her scalp. “Thank you, Jaune.”

“You now know the three basic chords. In fact, you could make your own song already with just those three.”

She beamed back up at him. “You don't have to pander too much.”

“Heh, now you're sounding like me.”

“I guess I am.”

Jaune smiled. Pyrrha smiled back. Wow, this felt really good. Maybe it was the lighting or the warm late afternoon but somehow, he felt something happen. It first started in the pit of his stomach then built up to his throat. He wanted to say something only to be beaten to it by something soft meeting his cheek.

He blinked. Twice. It lasted for four seconds. And already Pyrrha was more bashful than ever. He felt his hand run up to his cheek. Did she just...?

“Um, Pyrrha?”

“Y-yes, Jaune?”

“Can you...can you do that again?”

She gawked at him as though he had grown a third head. “W-what?”

Jaune choked and rebounded. Or tried to. “I mean, I don't...it's not bad...it's just...can you...can you do that again?”

“A-are you sure?” Pyrrha stuttered. “What y-you're asking i-i-is...”

He grimaced. “Yeah. That sounded creepy.” But he really wanted her to do it again. Seriously, he got smooched all the time by his sisters; what in all of Remnant made this different? Oh. That's right. He was thinking of her when he was itch-scratching. Shit. He's a pervert. Great.

“Jaune?”

He blinked back to reality. “What?”

“You were spacing out.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

And that was when he felt it again. Another peck on his other cheek. Pyrrha was quick with it and had already fallen back with a curious expression on her face and one that he could definitely read as 'did you like it?'

He did. He very much did.

“Hey, uh, Pyr?”

“Y-yes?”

Jaune honestly did not know what he was thinking though he was confident that he was not thinking clearly at the time. “Can I try?”

“W-w-what!?”

“My turn. I'd like to try it.” And he did.

Pyrrha's protests died on the edge of her tongue because it was already touching Jaune's. She melted instantly.

Jaune, on the other hand, pulled back. Damn. He missed. He was aiming for the cheek. But the lips were good. Yeah. The lips were good. And he was pretty sure they parted because he easily broke through her teeth. He opened his mouth to say something only for his partner to close the gap once again.

His mind began to scream. While half of him was caught in this haze, the other half tried to rationalize what exactly was happening. They were smooching—kissing! They were absolutely _not_ making out. Like _making out_ making out. Nope. They were, uh, practice-kissing. Yeah! Practice-kissing. Because for most of his life, Jaune was at the receiving end of kisses and this was his first time making out—PRACTICE-KISSING!—with his partner.

Yeah. As friends ( _close_ friends), they were doing each other favors. They were helping each other out by teaching the other how to do certain things. Pyrrha taught him how to fight. He taught her how to play the guitar. They both knew the other's routine for itch-scratching. Now they were in uncharted territory and learning the ropes as they went.

Perfectly platonic. Yeah...yeah...

* * *

Team RWBY stopped dead in their tracks at hearing the unmistakable sounds of a make-out session coming from their sister team's dorm room.

Yang instinctively planted her hands over Ruby's ears but in her panic, she had not registered how hard she was squeezing her little sister's head. Weiss was clearly uncomfortable with the noise but before she could pull her blubbering teammates away, Blake was shoved against the unfortunately unlocked door by her flailing team leader. Caught unawares, the faunus landed flat on her face on the floor of team JNPR's quarters.

“Huh!?”

“Gah!”

Pyrrha rolled off to the side, revealing a disheveled Jaune sunk into the mattress right next to her, his hair messed up, his shirt pulled up to his chest, and a noticeable cactus standing in the middle of a barren desert. Or at least that was what they imagined underneath those obtrusive cargo shorts.

“D-d-do y-you people ever knock!?” the champion weakly snapped, covering up her already covered up bosom. In fact, the only clothing she shed were her shoes and her blazer.

Team RWBY stood agape.

For seven seconds.

Then Jaune looked down and realized that this was not a dream and, yes, there was a great pyramid down there. He looked to his right. Pyrrha was staring. Down. Then up. Then she bolted for the bathroom and locked herself inside. That same humming noise started followed by squeaks and muffled moans. Well. She really wasn't shaving in there.

The blonde knight gulped, slowly gazing back at the four girls of their sister team staring at him wide-eyed and...mortified? No. That would not be the proper term to describe those strange looks they were giving him. And while he could not say that they were afraid, he himself was very well terrified.

Desperately, he combed through his cerebral cortex for his failsafe. Then again, it was hard to imagine Professors Port and Oobleck at the pool without the mental image of Professor Glynda's flawless skin glistening from atop the lifeguard's nest. That and he was gazing back at four clearly paralyzed girls...though Blake's bow was twitching furiously.

Where were Ren and Nora when he needed them?

Mustering up the most of his strength, he asked, “Um...can I use your bathroom?”

* * *

“What?”

“Can I use your bathroom?”

Cardin blinked. The rest of team CRDL gawked at their unexpected guest from the inside of their dorm. “Are you serious? What happened to yours?”

“Pyrrha's using it. She's going to take awhile.”

“... Is it that time of the month?”

Jaune hesitated. Then shrugged and said tiredly, “Yeah. It almost always is.”

Despite his thickheadedness, Cardin was no fool. He called bullshit on that. A roll of tissues in hand? Guy needed to poop. But a poorly concealed tentpole? Arc was lucky he didn't run into Miss Goodwitch (or anyone else for that matter) in the hallway. “Just clean up when you're done.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Having reached a surreal understanding, the brawny mace-wielder stepped aside to let the blonde knight through. Russell, Sky, and Dove eyed him step for step until he sealed himself in their lavatory with a resounding click of the lock.

“He's going to jack it,” Sky remarked.

“Hundred lien he finally makes out with Nikos,” Dove bartered.

“Two hundred,” Russell threw down.

“Three on the possibility that they already did and she blocked him tonight,” Cardin finalized.

* * *

**ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: June 30, 2018**

**LAST EDITED: July 7, 2018**

**INITIALLY UPLOADED: July 7, 2018 [FFN]**


End file.
